Pelosi defies China threats

Touching down: A US military aircraft with Pelosi on board preparing to land at Sungshan Airport in Taipei. (Right) A screencap from a video showing Pelosi exiting the plane. — AFP/AP

Taipei: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan yesterday evening, defying a string of increasingly stark warnings and threats from China that have sent tensions between the world’s two superpowers soaring.

Pelosi, second in line to the presidency, is the highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years and Beijing has made clear that it regards her presence as a major provocation, setting the region on edge.